A.O. Chika's Blog, page 7

Book Blitz: The Wolves of Daos 5 by Rebecca James

Title: The Wolves of Daos 5

Series: Wolves of Daos 5 1

Author: Rebecca James

Publisher: Rebecca James

Cover Artist: Brandyjo Newton

Release Date: September 24, 2016

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 195

Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, mpreg, shifter, paranormal,

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Synopsis

Michael has wrestled with anxiety his entire life, and finding out he’s half-werewolf doesn’t help matters. When bond-mate, Quinn, takes Michael to the werewolf colony, Michael finds more surprises in store for him, and some may be more than he can handle.

Excerpt
Looking over his shoulder as they walked, Michael saw that the milling crowd that had been gathering at the palace gates now filed in behind them, as though they’d been waiting for Quinn and Michael’s arrival in order to be admitted. Looking ahead, a vast courtyard lay before them with pruned hedges and extensive gardens that had been cut back in preparation for the coming winter.

Michael’s heart picked up when he spotted what appeared to be several huge lizards lounging in the inner courtyard near the front of the palace where he and Quinn were not, thankfully, headed.

“Komodo dragons?” Michael asked.

“What? Oh, yes. We brought them here from Indonesia. Very effective deterrents to trespassers.”

“I’ll bet.” Michael stared at the frightening creatures.

“This way,” Quinn said, setting off toward the side, passing through an archway and along an ivy-covered wall where two guards led three chained and naked men headed for a door leading away from the main part of the stone structure. Quinn propelled Michael toward a larger iron door at the far end of the narrow lane.

Michael couldn’t help but stare at the men. Were they slaves? They certainly appeared to be, with their dirty appearance and hands and feet manacled and the long chain connecting them one to the other.

“Prisoners,” Quinn said, as though answering Michael’s unasked question. Sometimes he really did seem to read Michael’s mind. “Escor. Scum.”

The corridor leading to the door was narrow and crowded. Quinn wrapped his arm around Michael’s waist and maneuvered them through, while Michael continued to stare at the prisoners. He’d never seen anyone like them; completely hairless, lacking even eyebrows and lashes, with long, slim feet and oddly-shaped heads.

Two large werewolves wearing red tangas and brandishing curved sticks urged the prisoners along. As Quinn and Michael passed the line of men, one looked directly at Michael, his silver eyes with dark, vertical pupils reminding Michael of a snake.

Michael thought they must be contact lenses—he’d seen some that gave a similar effect. As Michael returned the gaze, quick as lightning, the man’s tongue darted out, thin and forked, touching Michael on the arm at the same time that Atlas yelled and pulled Michael backward until his shoulder hit the opposite wall.

Quinn threw himself at the prisoner, his hands around the man’s thick throat.
Purchase
Rebecca James | Amazon | Smashwords

Meet the Author

Rebecca James writes m/m and m/m/m romance in the contemporary, paranormal, and sci-fi genres. Writing has been her passion since childhood, but it wasn’t until recently that she got up the courage to publish. She lives in the southern United States with her husband and three children.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | eMail

 

Giveaway

One lucky winner will get an ebook of their choice from Rebecca’s backlist

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The post Book Blitz: The Wolves of Daos 5 by Rebecca James appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Free Read: Silk Whispers By Cheryl L. Hyde |Snippet

Book Details:

Title: Silk Whispers

Author: Cheryl L. Hyde

Genre: Murder Mystery, Lesbian Romance

Pages: 319 Pages

Release Date: June 8, 2015

Publisher: Self Published

Rating: 5 Stars (117 Reviews Smashwords)

Blurb:

Sometimes life in a small coastal village is very predictable, other times it is anything but. Best friends and more, Mia and Charlie own Silk Whispers and lead “normal” lives, until one evening a dead body is found outside their boutique. Investigating officers Livie and Ryder arrive and with the first look—the first touch—sparks begin to fly. Can love develop from such an inauspicious beginning?

Chapter One
What the Hell?

She feels a scream scrambling up her throat, but not a sound escapes. Her hand grips Charlie’s in a death grip. “What the hell?” Mia whispers.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Charlie gasps.

They stare at the body leaning against the side of their boutique. The shoulder length blond hair is a tangled mess, blood obscures the face, and the head sits at an unnatural angle on the shoulders, the neck looks like it’s broken. The too-thin body is a ghastly gray and missing most of its clothing.

It’s late. Mia and Charlie are tired and all they want is to go home. It’s been a busy day. Besides helping the unusually large number of customers, they stayed late to complete the dreaded yearly inventory counts.

“She’s dead, right?”

“Oh yea. You can’t be that color and still be alive. Do you want to call 9-1-1 or shall I?”

“I’ll call, but let’s go back inside, just in case whoever did this is still around.” Mia glances around quickly at the deserted alley behind their eclectic lingerie shop, Silk Whispers, featuring custom-made under garments, as well as lingerie designed for bedroom—or any room—play.

Opening the door to Silk Whispers the two women go back inside, quickly closing and locking the door. Shaking, Mia pulls out her phone and calls 9-1-1. She quickly, but precisely, explains the circumstances and receives instructions to remain where she is—safely locked inside the shop. Two law enforcement officers will be there shortly, but until then she is told not to open her door for anyone.

“I know they said not to go outside, but maybe we should cover her with something. I mean it is sort of gross the way she is just sitting there mostly naked.”

“No way. I’ve watched enough TV to know you don’t mess with a crime scene, especially when a dead body is involved, unless you want to become the number one suspect. Besides, what if whoever did that is watching? Waiting.” Mia shudders.

The two friends move closer together, standing with their shoulders touching, each naturally seeking comfort from the other. Hands reach for and find the other, locking solidly together. The quiet seems to envelope them in a protective cocoon.

Mia and Charlie have been best friends and more since their early days of college. Outgoing and brilliantly intelligent Mia received a full-ride scholarship, swimming her way to many wins, state championships, and awards. Her dual majors were business and environmental ecology, but she spent hours in the textile design and merchandising department working on an unintentional minor, as well as her numerous one-of-a-kind creations. She had a natural eye for design and a decent talent for drawing those designs.

Awkwardly shy, introverted Charlie worked her way through college designing and making costumes for the theatre, thus spending hours in their sewing room. Her primary major was business law, but she minored in textiles and design, which is where she honed her raw talent for creating sexy, little underthings. Often, upon finishing her work on costumes, she remained to work on her designs.

Freshman year found Mia and Charlie in many of the same classes and a friendship blossomed. They soon discovered their mutual interest in designing lingerie. By the beginning of their second semester, they had finagled their way into being roommates, and the ‘and more’ of their relationship was born. Neither one had planned the ‘and more’ aspect, but neither did they try to stop the development.

That summer they rented a small two-bedroom house, which they called home until graduation. They shared one bedroom with their plush queen-sized bed and used the other room to design and sew one-of-a-kind silk lingerie. Sharing vivid imaginations for designing and sewing the little garments, as well as loving to model them for each other, led to further progression of their relationship.

However, lately their personal relationship is taking a backseat to the needs of their business. They rarely have time for each other and the fun things they used to do. Slowly, they seem to be drifting apart, yearning for something more than what they have.

Chapter Two
The Cops

Bam! Bam! Bam! The banging against the steel door breaks into the almost too quiet silence, sending both young women leaping into the other’s arms. An involuntary, high-pitched, squeak bursts forth from Charlie’s mouth.

“Officers Carson Ryder and Olivia Pollman, with the Shadow Springs police department. Please open the door,” comes the clipped baritone command.

“Thank, God!” Charlie murmurs and bolts for the door.

“Wait!” Mia grabs Charlie’s arm. “How do we know it’s really the police?”

Charlie looks uncertain. “So what do we do?”

“We need to see some ID before we open the door,” Mia yells through the locked door.

“Good idea,” Charlie mouths.

“This door is solid steel and there are no windows back here. How do you propose we do this?” comes the terse male reply.

“Face the center of the door and step to your right two small side-steps. Hold your IDs up so we can see them on our camera.”

The officers comply. After verifying that the faces match the IDs, Mia unlocks the door and introductions are exchanged. She explains they own Silk Whispers.

Mia shakes officer Ryder’s hand and can’t help herself as she gives the tall, blond, too-ruggedly-handsome-for-his-own-good officer Ryder the once—okay twice—over. Sensing his eyes boring into her, she feels heat infuse her face and hopes he can’t see the blush in the dim exterior lighting. Releasing her hand, he introduces his partner, officer Olivia Pollman.

Officer Pollman extends her right hand to shake both women’s hands, taking in their anxious expressions. “You may call me Livie,” she says in her smooth, smoky voice.

Surprised by the sexy, polished voice, Charlie pointedly looks at Officer Pollman—Livie—with a questioning lift of her right eyebrow. Her instincts—which rarely let her down—are on high alert. Her libido has kicked into overdrive. The tall, willowy brunette looks more like a model than an officer of the law and her resonant voice is like that of cultured old money society.

“I rarely use the officer term when talking with people, unless they are giving me a hard time. After 13 years in law enforcement, I’m comfortable with first names.” Livie is sizing up Charlie, and didn’t miss the earlier hand holding between the two, twenty-something females.

She considers herself a pretty good judge of character and figures they are more than simply business partners. She also hasn’t missed the look of raw sexual interest passing mutually between Mia and Carson or the attraction she is feeling towards, as well as receiving from Charlie. ‘Interesting,’ she decides.

Charlie nods, “Okay.” She looks at Livie again and decides she must have joined the force at a very young age. She doesn’t look any older than Mia or herself. “Did you say 13 years?”

“I did. I know. Everybody thinks I’m just a kid. Helps with undercover work, but is hell on the social life sometimes,” she chuckles deeply.

Buy Links  |  SmashWords |

The post Free Read: Silk Whispers By Cheryl L. Hyde |Snippet appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Book Blitz: Immortal Watch by Olivia Helling

Title: Immortal Watch

Series: Godsbane Prince 2

Author: Olivia Helling

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: Sept 23, 2016

Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 63,000 words

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Horror

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Synopsis

Bonded soul mates. Shocking secrets. Protecting the one he loves could destroy everything…

Ilyas defeated the Dark God and won the spoils of a lifetime: a new kingdom, a new soulmate, and a chance at revenge. Just when he has the chance to humiliate the brother who sold him out, Ilyas learns a closely-guarded secret. He has a son, and now he’ll do everything he can to protect him.

Jem’s life was pure loneliness before he met Ilyas. But with the Dark God thwarted, Jem is completely powerless. When Ilyas begins to devote his full attention to the baby, Jem becomes determined to win his soulmate back.

After allying with a powerful secret society, Jem conspires to deliver an uninhabited world where Ilyas’ young son can truly be safe. But Jem didn’t realize that his new alliance comes at a high price, one that may cost him the love of Ilyas forever.

Immortal Watch is a spellbinding LGBT dark fantasy novel. If you like rich world-building, captivating storytelling, and edge-of-your-seat action, then you’ll love this story of love and horror from Olivia Helling.

Excerpt
Ilyas cocked his head. “Is something wrong?”

I breathed deep to avoid stuttering. “What would be wrong?”

“Just that I miss that smile of yours.” Ilyas smiled in turn.

For a heartbeat, I expected him to clasp my cheek, to draw me close, to envelop me in an embrace, to kiss me breathless, like he had when I had awoken to find myself his tawam rohi . Ilyas closed the display box and returned it to the drawer under the berth.

I exhaled. Of course not. Ilyas had promised to teach me all about kissing, and more, but he’d spoken in the heat of the moment when I’d awoken. Perhaps the fantasy of teaching me excited him more than the reality. My stomach sank.

After all, I wasn’t a eunuch. When Ilyas had still been the prince heir of Nuriya, his harem full of buxom ladies and eager lads, the male form hadn’t seemed to displease him. So long as they were eunuchs, not proper men, as Nuriyite decorum dictated. Nuriyites heaped rules upon everything from eating to sex. Lumians didn’t care, especially when sex wouldn’t provide more mouths to feed.

Or perhaps the fault lay in me, as a person.

Ilyas sank onto the berth with a big sigh. His features seemed drawn and stressed. I perched on the bed next to him, reaching to pet his hair. He groaned, and I froze.

I wanted more. I wanted to learn how to kiss. I wanted to learn how to wrap my thighs around his waist. I wanted—

“It will be fine, Jem,” he said.

I never used to be so selfish. He shouldered the fate of Lumi, and I couldn’t help him. All I did was lie wide awake at night, planning to demand more from him, planning to distract him.

“We can play a game of Go,” he said. “And I will wipe the deck with you this time.”

“Like the last eleven times?” I teased him.

“This one is my game.”
Purchase
Amazon | Allromance eBooks/OmnitLit | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Meet the Author

Olivia Helling doesn’t believe in love at first sight… but maybe, just maybe, it blossoms along a few books. That is, after all, how she fell in love with her husband.

Olivia writes about the darkness and flaws from within, the struggle with self-confidence, self-perception and fear of failure, and fantasy and historical worlds that refuse to allow love between men. So be warned: happily ever after is not guaranteed.

The protagonist and love interest don’t always end up together by the end of one book. But when they finally come together, their love will be a thing of beauty.

Want to stay up-to-date on Olivia’s latest books? Sign up for her newsletter at: http://oliviahelling.com/snowmancer-e...

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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The post Book Blitz: Immortal Watch by Olivia Helling appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Blog Tour: Slave For Two by Morticia Knight

 

What is destined cannot be changed

 

Chris has had a monumentally bad month. First, an aggressive band of aliens invaded the Earth, conquered the world, and now he’s fighting for survival in the mountains with his family and the neighborhood bigot. Just because he’s barely out of his teens and a bit on the scrawny side doesn’t mean he can’t watch out for his mom, sisters and younger cousin. Chris keeps searching for the brighter side of things, but his humor is wearing thin. Fear can do that to a guy.

 

Lasar and Nary are a soul matched pair of warriors from Alashar. Lasar is Nary’s Ahna, the one who dominates him, and Nary is the Nasha, or submissive, to Lasar. Every Alasharian, regardless of orientation, needs the balance of the power exchange to exist peacefully within their lifelong soul match bond. When Lasar is awarded a war prize, he sends Nary to look over the recent arrivals.

 

 

 

 

Chris and his cousin Morgan are captured and sent to the slave cages where they discover from the other imprisoned young men that they are destined to be sex toys for alien pairs. When one of those aliens saves Chris and his cousin from being abused by the slave master, Chris hopes that the seemingly kind alien won’t be too horrible an owner.

 

 

 

 

Lasar and Nary are finally alone together with their new sex slave, ready to enjoy their reward. However, in the middle of their playtime a shocking event occurs that not only disrupts Chris’ world even more than it already has been, but also challenges everything that Lasar and Nary have always held dear. As Lasar searches for answers, he begins to question the reasons behind the Earth invasion and where his loyalties should really lie. As their Ahna, he must be the one who decides whether they will all be safer together, or apart.

 

 

 

 

Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes involving sounding.
Buy links: Pride Publishing | Amazon 




Excerpt from Slave for Two…

 

“Oh my God, what’s going on?”
Chris whipped his body around to see his mom hiking up

from the creek with the girls trailing behind, their extra sweaters wrapped

around them, protecting them from what appeared to be their still damp hair and

likely, a very cold river bath.
“Uh, I think Mr. Avery and Paul are going to head out

to a different spot.”
His mother furrowed her brow as her gaze flitted back

and forth between all of them. “Jerry? Is that true?”
He pressed his lips together and nodded.
“But…”
His mom seemed so fragile in that moment. What if she

felt safer with the older and larger man than with him? I really fucked this up.
“Why?” Her voice trembled. “Don’t go, Jerry. You’ll be

much better off if you stay here with us. Chris knows his way around these

trails, the mountain. You’ll get lost. Please. Think of Paul.”
“I am thinking of Paul!” His face had turned scarlet,

his normally ruddy complexion taking on an even more pronounced hue. “No offense,

Sharon, but your son is barely out of high school. Doesn’t have real-world

experience and I don’t think he’s

capable of making tough decisions. His kind don’t know how to stay calm when

the situation calls for it, and I can’t take any chances that he’ll become

hysterical if we’re faced with those things from space.”
I’ll show

him calm.
His mother appeared to be working up to a sizeable

rage. The coloring of her cheeks was in direct competition with Mr. Avery’s.
“I see.” Her tone seemed barely controlled. “Just so

we’re clear. My son has been out of high

school for over two years. He graduated early because he skipped ahead. He

was also class president for two years in a row, and had a three point nine

grade point average. If you add that to his extensive knowledge of this

terrain, not to mention”—her gaze wandered up and down Mr. Avery’s frame before

locking on his face again—“his physical fitness, I would put mine and the

wellbeing of my daughters’ in his hands any day over you.”
“Whatever. He’s too small to be of any use in a fight.”

Mr. Avery rolled his eyes as he continued stuffing the two bags he seemed

intent on taking. “Neither one of them stand a chance at battling those

things.” He’d waved his hand in the general direction of him and Morgan.
Chris had already decided to quit wasting his breath

on Paul’s dad, so he turned to Paul instead. “Remember what I said. Don’t try to fight them. They’ll kill

you if you do.”
Paul regarded him with the same pained expression as

earlier. “I’m sorry about everything, Chris, I really am. But I won’t let them

take me no matter what.”
“Oh, God.” His mother’s voice trembled and when he

glanced over to her, she was holding a hand to her mouth.
“Good luck.” Mr. Avery hoisted the canvas shopping bag

he’d brought from the Pine Cove market over his shoulder then marched away.

Paul dipped his chin at Chris, grabbed the second bag, then followed his dad.
“Jerry! Don’t!”
His mother surged forward but Chris grabbed her arm,

holding her back.
“Mom, stop. You can’t force them. Mr. Avery made it

pretty clear that he thinks he’s right about everything.” Chris let out a sigh,

wondering if he was the one making

the mistake. “I don’t know. Maybe he is.”
His mother whirled around to face him. “Don’t you dare start doubting yourself now,

Christopher. We never would’ve made it out of town if you hadn’t thought so

fast, hadn’t led us all to safety.”
Chris grunted, shaking his head. “Safety. Yeah. For

these past few days, sure, but then what? I can’t make any promises that I’ll

do the right thing next time.”
“And we don’t expect promises, sweetheart.” His mom

clutched his upper arms, her gaze searching his face. “I know there’re no

guarantees. But I also know that our best chance for survival is with you up

here, and even if you hadn’t come to the conclusion that we should stay in the

mountains, that’s what I would’ve decided on my own.”
A portion of the awful burden that’d been weighing him

down for days lifted at his mother’s words. It wasn’t until that moment that he

realized how overwhelming holding the responsibility of everyone’s lives in his

hands was. 

Author Morticia Knight spends most of her nights

writing about men loving men forever after. Even though she’s been crafting her

naughty tales of romance for more years than she’d like to share – her

adventures as a published author began in 2011. Since then, she’s been

fortunate enough to have several books on bestseller lists, along with two

titles receiving recognition from the Rainbow Book Awards. Once upon a time,

she was the lead singer and songwriter in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted

on U.S. college radio. Morticia currently resides on the beautiful northern

Oregon coast, and when she’s not fantasizing about hot men, she takes walks

along the ocean and occasionally annoys the local karaoke bar patrons. 

 

Author links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour…
 
September 20th
V’s Reads 

September 21st
TTC Books and more 

September 22nd
A.O. Chika book blog 

September 23rd
The O’Raven Chronicles 

September 24th
Bayou Book Junkie 
Cathy Brockman Romance 

September 25th
Eyes On Books 
The Purple Rose Teashouse 

September 26th
Triple A 

September 27th
Love Bytes
Divine Magazine 

Gay Media Reviews 

The post Blog Tour: Slave For Two by Morticia Knight appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Blog Tour: Hide and Seek by TM Smith

Dusty Anderson left his hometown in Justin, Texas for the Big Apple not long after graduating high school with dreams of becoming an actor. A year later, no closer to realizing his dream but pretty damn close to being broke, he comes across a flyer in a local gay bar that provides a solution to his dilemma. Six years later, Dusty has all but forgotten his dream to be an actor. The family he gained when he went to work at All Cocks and the job itself are enough for him, for now at least. 

David Thompson is barely twenty-one, high on life and starting his second year at NYU as an Art student. Now that he is old enough to enjoy the city’s night life, David finds his first crush at a local hot spot in the village, The Monster Bar. Young love is laid to rest though, when David comes out to his mother and older brother with disastrous results. 

A tragic incident at the hands of David’s brother changes the course of all of their lives and brings the two together, but is it coincidence or fate? Regardless of unlikely circumstance, Dusty is inexplicably drawn to David, who suddenly finds himself alone in the world. Protective of David from the start, Dusty realizes his extended family at All Cocks and his best friend Kory will not understand this new relationship. Fearing the worst, Dusty plays a dangerous game of hide and seek, risking everything to keep David safe and sheltered. 

But hiding can only last for so long, and David and Dusty aren’t the only ones dealing with uncertainties. The Dimir men find that the one thing they’ve longed for might be within reach and Dusty’s father, Dean, arrives in town unexpectedly with secrets of his own. Truths come out and trust is put to the test. Can the All Cocks family find the happiness they deserve? 

This is the 6th book in the All Cocks stories series, the series would read best if read in order, but each book can be read as a standalone story. 

Buy links:: Amazon US :: Amazon AU :: Amazon DE :: Amazon UK :: Are :: SW




The reviews are in!
 
“This was a sweet story, aside from the bad things David must overcome, and I was not disappointed with any of it. The All Cocks family continues to grow, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.”
– Just Jen from The Blogger Girls
 
“This series is fabulous. Each set of men have their own trials and tribulations and are connected like a large family. Each time a read a story in this book I say this is my favorite. They just get better and better. I have no idea how T.M. Smith will top this but I can’t wait to see.”
– Cathy Brockman Romance Author
 
Teaser…
 

 

 

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia;

TM Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. A Texas transplant, she now

calls DFW her home. Most days she can be found curled up with a good book, or

ticking away on her next novel.
 
Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and

decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, she is

passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights. Because, seriously people,

Love is Love!
 

Author links: Amazon || ARe || Smashwords || Website || Facebook || Twitter 
Goodreads || Pinterest || Youtube Follow the tour!




September 16th
Bloggin with M. Brennan – The O’Raven Chronicles 

September 17th
Making it Happen – Cathy Brockman Romance 

September 18th
Smashly BookalicousReviews – Open Skye Book Review 

September 19th
Love Bytes – Molly Lolly – AO Chika 

September 20th
Two Chicks Obsessed withBooks and Eye Candy – Wicked Faerie’s Tales 
Divine Magazine – The Purple Rose Teahouse 

September 21st
Fangirl Moments and My TwoCents 

September 22nd
Diverse Reader – Gay Media Reviews – Happily Ever Chapter – All In One Place 

September 23rd
MM Book Escape – Eyes On Books – Multitasking Momma 

September 24th
Sik Reviews – Foxylutely 

September 25th
Two Book Pushers – Triple A – Bayou Book Junkie 

 
Read the other books in the series 




The All Cocks stories

 

Gay for Pay
An All Cocks story, book 1 
Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE
ARe | Smashwords | B&N | Audible | Amazon audio | i-Tunes

French translations: Amazon FR | Kobo France | Fnac 

 
Fame and Fortune
An All Cocks story, book 2
Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE |ARe |Smashwords | B&N

 
How to Deal 
An All Cocks story, book 3
Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | ARe | Smashwords | B&N
 

Dare to Hope

An All Cocks story, book 4 

Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | ARe | SmashwordsLive for Love

An All Cocks story, book 5

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE


Facebook All Cocks stories page







Join the All Cocks INC Groupies page on facebook for exclusive excerpts, content, early peek at covers and giveaways that are just for members of the group. 



☆  ☆ All Cocks Series Box Set ☆  ☆
☆  ☆ FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED ☆  ☆
☆  ☆ Box Set package only sold exclusively through Amazon ☆  ☆
 
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon AU





Coming soon for KU subscribers – All Cocks box set volume 2

Set to include book 4, 5 & 6
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
Hosted by…

 

The post Blog Tour: Hide and Seek by TM Smith appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Free Read: Wriggle & Sparkle By Megan Derr |Snippet

Book Details:

Title: Wiggle & Sparkle

Author: Megan Derr

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Gay Romance

Pages: 319 Pages

Release Date: August 8, 2016

Publisher: Less Than Three Press

Rating: 4.8 Stars (Amazon)

Blurb:

Lynn is a kraken shifter in every way: detailed, tenacious, resilient, and hard-working. Also possessive, vain, arrogant, and demanding. It makes him an excellent agent for the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Security and Investigation—and impossible to work with, as the long list of partners who have transferred away from him will attest.

His newest partner is a unicorn, possibly the worst type of paranormal for work that often turns ugly and violent. Everyone knows unicorns are too delicate for such things. Then Anderson proves to be a unicorn like no other, the kind of partner Lynn has always wanted—the kind of partner he wishes was more. But if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that the only thing harder to keep than a partner is a lover.

Excerpt

Lynn wiped iced coffee from his face and glared death at the teenager who had crashed into him trying to catch a football. “I promise, whatever it is you think I’m about to do to you, it’s ten times worse. Get out of my face before you get what you deserve for being the kind of idiot who plays football inside a crowded building. And while you’re improving your life choices, find friends who don’t run and leave you behind.”

Making a squeaky noise, the guy turned tail and fled like his ass was burning. He was lucky Lynn had no control over fire. The way his week had been going, the entire world should be grateful. Damn it, he was supposed to meet his new partner in twenty minutes. That was barely enough time to make it to the office.

He grabbed a handful of napkins and mopped up what he could of the spilled coffee. That was what he got for going with a size up from his usual. At least his cheese danish had survived—if the brat had ruined that, too, Lynn would have ensured he never played sports again.

Tossing the napkins, he booked it out of the Alta building, bolted across the street right before the light changed, and hustled the four blocks down to his own workplace, the Dryden building. The Bureau of Paranormal Security and Investigation occupied floors seventeen through twenty-four. Lynn worked on eighteen, one of two floors devoted to the Violent Crimes portion of the Bureau.

The woman at reception gave him a raised eyebrow and a mouth two seconds away from letting laughter slip. “Get dumped again, Lynnie?”

“Fuck you,” Lynn said, giving her the finger as he kept walking. Pushing through the second door, he kept the finger raised, moving it around with every smirk and snicker and snarking word thrown his way. “Fuck all of you. It was some dumb kid. Why do I still work here with all of you losers?”

“‘Cause you’re a loser, too, and watch your language,” snapped Comber, leaning out of his office, cigarette smoke wafting around him. He settled the cigarette between his lips and beckoned sharply with large, ink-stained fingers for Lynn to get in his office now or else.

Lynn shot a last look over his shoulder at his smartass coworkers, promising that lunch would be a buffet of death and dismemberment, then hustled into the office and dropped into the seat. “Yes, principal?”

“There’s been a situation.”

“If there wasn’t a situation, I wouldn’t have a fucking—damned—oh, fuck it. I wouldn’t have a goddamn job if there wasn’t a situation on a near-hourly basis.”

“I mean with your new partner.”

Lynn groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face before bracing his elbows on his spread knees and burying his face in his hands. “What now?” he asked, slowly looking up. “It was all arranged. He’s supposed to be here in like five minutes. What gives?”

“Your new partner was arrested late last night. Remember that case about goblin hearts going missing?”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Comber snorted and finished off his cigarette, then immediately pulled a fresh one from the half-empty pack on the desk.

“Smoking is bad for you.”

“At least they don’t throw drinks on my overpriced suits.”

Lynn huffed, mentally weighing the pros and cons of throwing a heavy object at his boss.

“Whoever replaces me would be worse.”

“Shut up,” Lynn groused. “It’s too early in the morning to put up with you.”

Rolling his eyes, Comber gestured. “Get out. Go home and change. I know you’ll be pissy all day if you’re not looking nice and pretty when your new new partner shows up.”

Not even bothering to reply to that, Lynn stood and left. At his desk, he pointedly ignored the stupid smirking faces all around him and pulled out his phone. His sister was headed downtown that morning, anyway, she could bring him a clean suit. When he’d finished calling, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and scowled around the office. “Any of you try to talk to her, I will destroy you.”

“So she’s still single, right?” Ted asked and then ducked with a yelp when Lynn threw his stapler. It banged against the back wall.

“You break it, you buy it!” Comber bellowed from his office.

Ignoring him, because everyone knew Comber’s threats were largely empty, Lynn opened his computer and left it to wake up, mentally making a note to harass Janice again about giving him a new one. He headed into the breakroom and dug a couple of bucks out of his wallet, fed them into the vending machine, and punched the buttons for a cranberry juice. He narrowed his eyes when the bottle got stuck and pounded his fist on the plastic front.

The juice dropped, thankfully, because they’d been warned that if another vending machine was destroyed that quarter there wouldn’t be another one for at least a decade. The first three hadn’t been his fault, and the one last year… Well, Thomas should have kept a better eye on that stupid, punkass brownie.

Carrying his juice back to his desk, Lynn dug his vitamins out of the topmost drawer and downed them in two swallows. Making a face because even juice couldn’t hide that nasty taste, he opened up the reports due the next day and began to work quickly through them. He paused halfway through the second. “Hey, where the hell did that tanooki wind up?”

Jack, whose desk butted up and faced off with his, stared at him blankly for a moment, mug pausing halfway up. “Which—oh, that one. Uh. Amsterdam, I think. Don’t ask me why. No one ever told me. Why, did you want a second date?”

“Haha. If you consider that catastrophe a date, it’s no wonder you can’t get one.”

“I get plenty of dates, and mine have never thrown drinks on me.”

“That was one time!” Lynn snapped. “And I told you assholes—this,” he jabbed at his chest, “was done by some spotted sixteen-year-old with a dubious ability to make decisions.”

Jack snorted and took a sip of his nasty-smelling earl gray. “That’s all sixteen-year-olds. Like you ever made a wise decision at that age?”

“I’ll have you know I was a very smart girl at that age.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jack replied. “For instance: why would you shift into a man when you could look like your sister?”

“And everyone says I’m the asshole,” Lynn muttered and shot him a disgusted look. “My sister didn’t become my sister until college—until then she was my brother. We are gorgeous in all shapes and sizes, so fuck off.”

“I always forget how fluid krakens are. You ocean types in general are good at that, right?”

“Some krakens argue they aren’t fluid, at least not the way most people mean that word. It’s natural to krakens to be born ‘male’ and shift to ‘female’ in middle age. And that’s all most of us do. My sister and I are fluid, however. But yes, broadly speaking, ocean types tend that way.”

“Bet she makes a better man than you,” Jack with a grin.

Lynn lightly punched his arm and went back to work, leaving Jack to his snickering.

He didn’t stop working until he felt the familiar prickle along his skin that told him his sister was close. He stood and strode back to the front to meet her just as she stepped inside. “Good morning, Les.”

She beamed at him and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Hey, bro.” Pulling back, she held out the suit she was carrying, still bagged and on a hanger. “This is the one you wanted, right? Jeez, look at the mess you made of that one—that’ll never come out!”

Buy Links | Amazon Global | Less Than Three Press  | SmashWords |

The post Free Read: Wriggle & Sparkle By Megan Derr |Snippet appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Book Review: Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan

Blurb:

Ever wondered what lesbian love between two teenage girls feel like? Read the story of Lena and Juliet.

Lena Newman is 17 years old and pretty satisfied with her life. Until her world is turned upside down. Juliet James is the new girl at school and very quickly manages to send Lena’s heart wild. Juliet introduced Lena to a part of herself she didn’t know was there, taking her on an emotional journey where loyalty, friendships and family relationships are tested. Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it?

 

Title:


Just Juliet








Author:



Charlotte Reagan






Genre:


YA, LGBT, Romance





Publisher:


Inkitt





Release Date:


September 21, 2016





Format:


Mobi, Paperback





Pages:


348





Source:


Publisher















Review:
PLOT

Just Juliet is a beautiful story about first love, exploring your sexuality; all the fears and thrills that come with finding someone that makes your heart race and your head explode with thoughts and doubts. If discovering your sexuality is hard, coming out is sometimes worse.

Lena took the discovery of her bisexuality easier than I thought, but then again having Scott and Lakyn constantly sucking face and being gross idiots in love might have contributed to that. Her relatively easy acceptance of herself made me happy. Scott, Juliet, and Lakyn already had enough horror stories, and I really wanted her to know it didn’t have to be so complicated.

I mean sure, not everyone would react positively to their friend or child coming out, but there are some people who will like Mr. James. Some people like Lena’s parent would need some time to accept that their kid doesn’t fit into that labeled box they placed them in. I honestly understood Lena’s parents’ reaction to Lena being bisexual. I mean one moment their daughter was dating a linebacker and the next she’s talking about being in love with a girl. They were confused and frustrated, they needed time, and after a while, they accepted Lena’s sexuality as all that mattered was their daughter’s happiness.

What I loved the most about this book apart from the ending that made me laugh and cry at the same time, was the fact that Lena got to understand the feeling of being with someone that made you so happy it hurt. She got to witness the beauty of being herself and being in love with someone who had their own issues but somehow everything was perfect despite the family issues, the insecurity, the public’s reaction to homosexuality… eventually, she realized that very few people actually cared about her sexuality. Well Quinton did, but then again he’s a dick.

CHARACTER
Mr. James:

Mr. James is officially my hero. I wish I had someone like him around... heck I wish everyone had someone as loving and understanding as him. I know he’s caring because he lost his best friend who was Trans, to suicide. I wish he didn’t have to go through that, I wish his friend learned to love and accept themselves irrespective of the people he was ‘hurting’ by being themselves.

I mean that man had to be an angel. He took Scott in after the big blowout with his parent and he gave Lena a place to stay after the big reveal with her parents. He even tried to give her the awkward lesbian sex talk because he wanted her to be safe. He’s awesome.

Lena:

I love her transition from uninterested in anyone but dating Quinton to holy shit Juliet! It wasn’t a fast transition, but it wasn’t slow. I really don’t think anyone just falls in love with someone of the same sex and just dive face first into the intimate part of it. I love watching her figure out herself. I loved watching her accept her feelings for Juliet.

I loved watching her read about LGBT labels to figure out where she stood. Many online articles say labels aren’t necessary but sometimes it’s nice to know what you are. Knowing what she was, and having a name for it presented a kind of safety net.

I was sad when she broke up with Juliet but then again she’s still young, and I didn’t want her to drop everything and change her life for Juliet. However, the ending made up for it.

Lakyn:

I wondered why he was always in a hoodie until they came off and I saw the scars on his shoulder, his back and razor scars on his wrist. After learning about that, I felt conflicted, on one hand, I wish I never knew about it because it was just so sad and it finally explained the way he was always silent and guarded except with Scott and his family.

On the other hand, I’m glad he was finally comfortable enough to take off his shirt and be happy with his body despite the scars. I’m glad he stopped hiding… it’s still sad though.

Lakyn’s story isn’t pretty, but he has Scott and despite everything, those two idiots are so much in love, it makes the ugliness of their past fade away. Like Matt said, “Scott is really into the gay thing.”

Their wedding was beautiful, God those two are such dorks and they deserve to be happy, they deserve each other.

This review is long enough so I’m just going to add this. Lacey is awesome, she’s the awesome token heterosexual best friend.

Seriously, this book is amazing read it!

My favorite YA book



Plot


















Editing


















Characters


















Ending


















Chemistry


















Pacing

Summary

I kept putting off reading this because I'm a lazy shit, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down, the characters were real. and at some point i stopped reading a book and began watching everything happen right in front of me, it was mesmerizing!

5.0
























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Release Day Blitz: Tenderly Wicked by Katerina Ross

Blurb

Max has always been interested in the wicked ways of BDSM, but his unusual tastes haven’t always been well received. But now he has Vadim, an eager Russian sub willing to fulfill his most daring fantasies.

There’s one problem—Max isn’t quite ready to accept what’s right in front of him. His deep-seated insecurities threaten to spoil what’s growing into more than just a kinky pastime. Will Max embrace Vadim’s love or throw away his chance at true happiness?

Excerpt

He woke up in the middle of the night, and the first thing he felt was a light wind. Then he discovered something was missing from the bed. Namely, Vadim.

The balcony door stood ajar. Max hastily threw on his jeans, grabbed his shirt, and went to investigate.

Vadim stood on the balcony, smoking. He leaned against the railing, his spine arched, which presented his rear end in the most enticing way. He’d put his clothes on. Good for him. The nights were still warm, but not enough for one to linger outside in a state of undress.

Max watched him for a while, admiring his—um—posture, and then slid out after him. “Why aren’t you asleep at this time of night?”

“Oh.” Vadim looked back across his shoulder, startled. “I woke you up after all. Sorry.”

Max put an arm loosely around his waist, and murmured into the crook of his neck, “Luckily, no one has to go to work early in the morning. I only have classes at midday.”

The railings were a bit rusty, but at night, everything was a decent dark gray color. There were no lights visible through the thick crown of the ash tree. Everyone seemed to be sound asleep.

“What’s keeping you up?” Max repeated, still holding Vadim from behind. “Are you thinking about your work?”

“Mmm. No. It’s just… It was so good today. I think it frightens me a tad.”

Well, that was a surprise. “Why’s that?”

Vadim leaned back, rested his head against Max’s shoulder, peering into the darkness. “I just don’t want it to be over, that’s all.”

“Neither do I. What’s the problem then?”

Vadim was silent for a moment. “It’s silly, I know,” he said at last.

Max pressed tighter against his back. “Of course it’s silly.”

He didn’t dare to admit aloud that it had been unexpectedly terrifying for him, too, to know that he now was responsible for someone else’s wellbeing. That was what worried him the most. Vadim’s pleasure depended on his decisions, on his planning … and almost nonexistent skills as a Dom. He wanted their relationship to last. He wanted them both to go into a dream-like state where nothing mattered outside the scenes he created, but what if he screwed it all up? It had been fine today, but what about tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow?

Max needed to get all these doubts out of his mind, and the only way to do it was to concentrate on Vadim and not on self-analysis. “You need to stop thinking too much,” he said sternly. “I suppose it’s my responsibility now to prevent you from doing that. Let’s keep you occupied. Given that you tend to neglect your health, I think, as your Dom, I should start a really strict correction training. First, you’re going to quit smoking.”

Vadim let out a laugh, the half-smoked cigarette still in his hand. “Believe me, I tried.”

“No. I’m serious. You’re going to quit smoking.”

“Why would I?”

“Because I told you so.”

A moment of hesitation. Then Vadim stubbed his cigarette against the rusty railing and threw it down into the darkness.

“How very compliant—and how very disrespectful towards public property,” Max purred into his ear. “What should I do now? Reward you for obedience—or punish you for littering? Or maybe both?” With one hand wrapped around Vadim’s waist, Max traced the other up Vadim’s chest and throat and chin until he parted his lips with the index finger.

“Suck. Yes, like that. We need to do something about your disgraceful smoking habit. Save this pretty mouth for purposes other than pulling on a cigarette.”

Vadim twirled his tongue around Max’s finger.

“Yes, like that,” Max encouraged him. “Wet it. You’ll need distractions to cope. I’ll give you distractions. As much as you can take, and more.”

“Gingering again?” Vadim asked dreamily when Max pulled his finger out.

“You seem to have liked it, huh?”

Vadim sighed. “Um, not much, but it helped.”

Max undid the button on Vadim’s pants, and his hand reached into the waistband. Vadim’s breath hitched as he felt a finger, moistened with his own saliva, between his buttocks.

“What if someone … sees?” he panted out.

“Hm. Then let’s give them a spectacle to watch.” It was highly unlikely that someone would, in the dark, through the branches of the ash tree, but Max chose not to reassure Vadim, and the thrill seemed to work perfectly on Vadim’s cock. Max started working on it with one hand, alternating strokes along his length with swipes of his thumb across the wet head, and plunged knuckle deep into Vadim’s ass at the same time, rubbing his prostate.

It didn’t take much time to bring him to the brink, but as soon as Max felt the tightness of Vadim’s balls and the treacherous pulse in his cock, he squeezed his fingers tight in a circle around the base of his shaft, preventing orgasm. Vadim bit back a growl of frustration.

“Not that fast,” Max warned him. Vadim squirmed in his arms but didn’t resist, too far gone for that, completely at his Dom’s mercy.

Author bio

Katerina Ross lives in Russia and works as a journalist. There are no M/M publishers in her country at all, so she wrote a hot and kinky M/M romance in English.

Online profiles: Facebook, Tumblr, and LJ.

Buy links:
Amazon | Evernight Publishing

The post Release Day Blitz: Tenderly Wicked by Katerina Ross appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Book Marketing 001: Find and Target Your Ideal Readers

Welcome to the first post in the book marketing weekly series. There were several posts I would have loved to begin this series with, but most Authors are not marketers, so I decided to start at the beginning i.e. knowing your “Ideal Reader”.

PART ONE
Knowing Your Ideal Reader

As an author, you might not be able to control your book sales, irrespective of the number of Bookbub ads and Facebook ads you run. Unless you actually know who your target audience is, you will spend lots of money on marketing your book and get little return.

Alternatively, you could improve your reader’s experience and give them a reason to care about your brand – your books. They need to feel invested in your brand, you need to care about them… and by that I don’t mean just making Facebook and Twitter posts talking about how happy you are and how much you love them, that is great and all but that is somewhat impersonal don’t you think?

I’m an avid reader of both original fiction and fanfiction, I read 10k words on a bad day and 100k words on a good day, I have a list of top ten fanfiction and original fiction authors whose website I check every morning on Feedly. Your readers most probably also have their mental or physical list of authors they love and follow, so you need to give them a reason to add you to that list, you need to give them a reason to buy YOUR books, rather than a similar book by another author.

Keep in mind that readers do not buy a book after hearing or seeing it somewhere once, sometimes we won’t buy a book even after seeing it everywhere on Facebook.

Most customers will not buy your book after seeing or hearing about it once.
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Sometimes after seeing or hearing about your book and reading the blurb, we click on the amazon link to read the reviews before we finally decide to buy the book. We really did want to buy your book, but once we got to the amazon page we got distracted by “Customers who bought this item also bought” and ended up buying one of those books instead.

You might not be able to affect your book sales directly but you can directly affect your “Ideal Buyer” buying journey. On the next book in the book marketing series, I will go into detail about the reader’s buying journey. There I will break down the process readers take before deciding to buy a book. First, you need to know who your ideal reader is.

It’s important for Authors to know who their target audience is as well as who your IDEAL reader i.e. among the group of people who reads the genre you write in and who would love your book, we need to find the segment of people within that group that would actually buy your book. There are readers and there are buying readers. Those who would buy your book or at least has the potential to do so once nurtured, are your ideal audience within your target audience.

I hope you see where I’m going with this. Before you begin marketing your book, you need to know who exactly your target audience is. Assumptions and guesswork will only end with you either targeting the wrong target audience, a fraction of your potential audience or an imitation of your ideal audience.

Examples of an imitation of your ideal audience are book bloggers and book reviewers who read the genre you write in. We love your books and we will gladly support you where we can, we are the perfect audience… except for the fact that we don’t need to buy your book as we can get it free in exchange for an honest review or a blog post.

Book Bloggers and reviewers are VERY important; they are influencers whose readers are usually part of your ideal audience. However, we are not your IDEAL audience, we are just an imitation of it, and you really shouldn’t spend all that time, money, and effort marketing your book to us instead of your ideal readers. I’m an avid reader as well as a book blogger/reviewer, but I’m also a professional marketer and the truth has to be told no matter how much I love your books.

Book bloggers and reviewers are NOT your ideal readers, they are an imitation of it.
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When you really think about it, book bloggers rarely send out an email promoting just one book, we usually send a newsletter about several books, interviews, blog tour, giveaways etc. Now imagine your ideal audience reading that email, what would make them choose your book over the other books.

Now that the groundwork has been set, let’s move to the next part –identifying your ideal audience. Writing books is an art, but it’s also a business so I’m going to treat this as I would when talking to a client at work.

I will be calling readers who read the genre your write and love your books “Target Audience” or “Target readers” and I’ll call the readers within this audience who would actually pay for your books, or would after being exposed to your brand and nurtured until they are sales ready “Ideal audience” or “Ideal Readers.” I hope you don’t mind, I just really need you to get into the business headspace.

The interesting part is that identifying your ideal readers or target readers is actually quite simple despite the effort it requires. It’s a lengthy process but you cannot skip it.

There’s no need to rush, take as much time as you need to set the foundation of your business and when it’s time to run marketing campaigns, you would reap the benefits of knowing your target readers.

It doesn’t matter what stage of the book production journey you are in: whether you are still writing your book, if it’s in the final stage of production or if your book is already released.

No matter the stage of book production you are at, it is important to know your readers
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Knowing and understanding your ideal audience is a must, to get you started I’ve included a template and a checklist, feel free to use them to know who your target audience really is and once you do, you’ll be able to connect with them online and offline.

This way, rather than target people who read the genre you write and MIGHT like your book, you will know who WOULD. Most importantly, you’ll be able to get their attention and guide them through their buying journey and eventually increase your book sales.

PART TWO
How to Collect Important Reader Information

To answer the question you’ve been asking since you started reading this: How do you identify and understand your target audience.

Knowing who your target audience and ideal audience are, is all about collecting, and analyzing the right information. There are four ways to collect this information.

There are four ways to collect information on your ideal readers
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Interview readers in your genre:

You can do this by email, social media, or through online surveys. Ask them if they have heard of you; ask them if they have read any of your books? What books did they like? If they haven’t what kind of book do they like? Would your book be a perfect fit for them?

If it wouldn’t then they are not part of your ideal readers as they might not be willing to pay for your book. You can treat them as cold leads that can be warmed up over time by nurturing them, or as my boss at work always say by bribing them. Ultimately, they should not be prioritized over hot leads, i.e. the readers who love your work, readers who your book would be perfect for and readers who buy your books.

Look through your contact database:

Go through your mailing list, Facebook friends and fans, or twitter followers you have interacted with to uncover trends on how they found you.

What books did they like? What posts did they interact with? What content (blog post, email, or social media posts) did well and which didn’t? What did they like about that post, what platform did you write the post on?

Through forms and other conversion tools on your blog:

If you already have a website or blog with contact forms, newsletter forms, and any type of opt-in forms. Check if those forms capture important reader information such as: which of your books they have read? Which of your books is their favorite? Why did they like that book? How many books they read on average each week? Which of your characters they liked? What did they like about this book?

Some authors get this information from readers by using giveaways and landing pages offering some sort of ‘bribe’ -usually a free book to get readers to fill in those details.

This information lets you know what your ideal readers think of your book, what they want to see from you in the future, what about your brand appeals to them and what doesn’t.

Feedback from bloggers:

You can also ask book bloggers who have made posts about your books; be it a book review, an interview, or a guest post. Ask them how the interaction with the piece was; what links received the most clicks? How many people read the post? Where did they visit before landing on your post?

This step depends on the amount of traffic the blog gets, as well as what tools the blogger has on the blog for collecting this information. Keep in mind that the bloggers might not give out that information but hey, you never know until your try.

PART THREE
Understanding Your Negative Target Audience

By now you should have an idea of what questions and information you would need to know to understand your target audience. I have arranged a list of questions to ask your target audience, and in the downloadable template, I filled the questions with my own information to get you started.

Before we get to that, it’s important to know whom your NEGATIVE target audience is.

Negative target audience or negative target readers are readers who are not part of your target audience. They could be readers who do not read your genre, they might be readers who do not meet the age requirement to read your books, and they might be readers who read your genre but would not read your book because of the pairing.

Negative target audience are readers your book would be a bad fit for.
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Using myself as an example, I read strictly LGBT books, but I cannot read an M/M/F book or an F/F/M book. Therefore, even though I read LGBT books, if you wrote a bisexual romance or erotica book, I would be part of the negative audience. I would still put your book on my blog but personally, I wouldn’t read it.

Take a minute to think about your negative audience, write this down so that when you start marketing your books you know to include details that they would identify and keep off, you don’t need them on your mailing list (for that book) when you start lead generation campaigns and email marketing. Knowing your negative audience would let you separate the ‘bad seeds’ from the good ones, leaving your target audience to engage with your post.

PART FOUR
35 Questions to Understand Your Target Audience

Now that you know who your negative audience is, it’s time to get back on track and identify your target audience. Below are 35 questions to help you identify and understand your readers. I have divided the questions into groups to make it easier to process. I recommend downloading the checklist and the template, as I answered these questions to get you started and to help you.

Demographics


Age: If you write erotica then 16-year-olds aren’t your target audience no matter how many books they read or buy.
Gender: Some genres have readers of a predominant gender. For example, the romance genre has predominantly female readers.
Language: If you are targeting the South American or Asian market, then your book has to be written in a language they can best connect with.
Location: This might not seem very important but it will be useful when filling the “Offline community” section.


Interests


What genres do they read? What subgenres?
What romance pairings do they like? Which do they dislike?
How many books do they read weekly?
How do they find out about new book releases?
How do they get book recommendations?


Online Community


What Facebook groups are they in?
What Facebook pages do they follow?
What blog/website do they follow or subscribe to?
What Twitter accounts do they follow?
Why are they in any of these online communities?


Offline Communities


What events are they likely to be at?
What bookshops or book clubs are you likely to find them in?


Budget


When was the last time they bought a book?
What is the most they are willing to pay for a book
What would be their ideal book price?
How many books do they buy on average monthly?


Shopping Preference


How do they buy books? Do they buy books online, in person or in bookstores?
What online stores do they buy books from?
How do they search for books on these online stores? For example, do they search by author name, by title or using filters to narrow down books by genre, ratings, price etc.
Ask them to describe a recent purchase. Why did they buy this book? What was the evaluation process like?


Your Brand


How did they hear about you?
What online platforms do they interact with you on?
What do they like about your books?
What do they dislike about your books and your brand?
Which of your book characters did they love the most?
Which did they dislike?
If you were to recommend one of your books to a new fan, what book would you recommend?
Why would you recommend that instead of any other?
What social media post, blog post or email had the most engagement?
What did you do differently?


Elevator Pitch


Pitch each book in one sentence.
Pitch your brand in one sentence.

FINAL POINTS

I know the questions are a bit overwhelming but there’s no need to rush, take your time to answer as many of these questions as possible. Answer them using information from your readers as well as from potential readers, if unsure of how to proceed you can use my answers from the template to get started.

I recommend using the checklist along with the template to ask these questions, as they have been personalized and reads from the reader’s point of view.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post despite the length, don’t forget to read the next book in the series on the reader’s buying journey. Until then the checklist and template should keep you busy.

The post Book Marketing 001: Find and Target Your Ideal Readers appeared first on A.O. Chika Book Blog.

Free Read: Winter Chill by Aria Grace and J.J. Hunter

Book Details

Title: Winter Chill

Authors: Aria Grace & J.J Hunter

Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance

Page: 120 pages

Release Date: December 20, 2013

Rating: 4.4 Stars (103 reviews on Amazon)

Price: Free

Blurb:

Story of First Time Love

Indie Walker started college with a basketball scholarship and a plan to stay focused on his studies. His roommate and best friend, Daniel, is one of the most popular guys on the wrestling team. When a power outage during a winter storm forces them to get closer than ever before just to survive the night, their relationship changes forever. Neither are gay but the physical chemistry they have is undeniable. Unfortunately, Daniel’s issues at home might be too severe for them to overcome.

Chapter One

The high-pitched beep of an incoming text woke me with a jolt. My mind instantly wondered if someone was hurt. Becs? Pawing at the table above my head, I located my phone and checked the message.

EAST COAST AIRPORTS CLOSED DUE TO INCOMING STORM.

It wasn’t a family emergency but the feeling of sadness was almost as intense.

“No, no, no.” I pulled up to the sill of the plate glass window next to my bed and peeked outside, squinting against the glare of blinding sun reflecting off the completely white landscape. Other than looking like some kind of Kinkade painting of a winter wonderland, the weather was perfectly clear. Not a cloud in the sky.

Snow used to make me excited for days on the slopes and nights watching movies and sipping hot cocoa. Now it just makes me cold. When the flakes first started to fall in November, it didn’t bother me much. Sloshing along the salted sidewalks was kinda fun when everyone was doing it. And walking into a warm, dry classroom made the shitty weather a novelty of living in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Three weeks and four white-outs later, I was completely over it.

In less than twenty-four hours, I was supposed to be stepping off the plane in Fort Lauderdale to spend a glorious month in the warm embrace of sunshine with nothing but my little sister between me and blessed relaxation.

“You okay,” Daniel asked from his side of the room. He tucked his face under his pillow to hide from the obnoxious light that poured in. His wide biceps appeared to be flexed over his head but they were just so sculpted that they never flattened out, even when he slept.

“I don’t know. I got a text that the airports are closed because of a storm or something. I hope it’s a mistake. I don’t want to be stuck here another day.” I grabbed my laptop from the nightstand and pulled up the weather site.

“Un-fucking-believable.” I pounded my palm against the wall, shaking the glass hard enough that I thought it might crack. Luckily, the glass didn’t budge but a few flakes of ancient weather stripping dropped from the frame onto my pillow. Perfect. Now it’ll be even fucking colder in this room.

“Well?” Daniel sat up on one elbow, watching me. He hadn’t given me a firm answer about meeting me in Florida over the break or staying at his dad’s house in New Hampshire so I didn’t know if he’d be disappointed. Hanging out in the elderly mecca of Boca Raton wasn’t exactly a party but it was quiet and having a friend with me would save me from having my fourteen-year-old sister, Becca, follow me around the entire time. I was banking on Daniel’s presence to keep me busy…and probably distract her. She would definitely go for his shortly cropped dark hair that looked fashionably messy. The girls on campus always sighed and stared as he walked by. Becs wouldn’t be any different.

“Some kind of super-storm has the shore in a tissy. We should be out of god damn hurricane season by now. This is bull shit. They might not open the airports for two days and then who knows how long it’ll take to get a flight out.” I flung my back down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. The peaks and valleys of the popcorn texture reminded me of the snowy terrain just outside my window. I wanted to punch the wall again. “Well, you might as well go to your dad’s so you can start your vacation. No sense in both of us being stuck in this frozen hell hole for longer than necessary.”

“Dude, relax.” He laughed. “You’ll get home in a few days. I’m gonna hang here for a while so we can catch a movie or something. If Sof goes home tomorrow, we can head into the city and find a club. It’ll be fine.” Daniel had been hooking up with Sofia for a few weeks but she was already getting clingy. I didn’t expect her to be coming around much longer if she didn’t back off. He wasn’t the type to want a girlfriend in his first, or probably even second, year of college. He was definitely playing the field. I must admit, I admired him.

Some guys have the confidence to walk into a room full of beautiful girls and just take their pick. I wasn’t one of those guys. I could have hooked up with some of the team’s fans if I wanted to; but I’d been focusing so much on classes and practice that I couldn’t afford to add girls into the mix. But, with no practice or classes for a while, I was ready. That was another reason I wanted him to come to Florida with me. I hoped that if we went out, I might be able to get some of his scraps. Yeah, pathetic, but as a 19-year-old virgin, I wasn’t choosy. I was horny.

After sulking for another twenty minutes, I called my parents at the bakery to let them know I’d be a few days late. Apparently, the threat was real because they had already boarded up the shop and stocked the attic apartment in case they needed to hole up for a few days. Being far away from them during these kind of situations was the worst part of living 1500 miles from home. Just one more reason to feel sorry for myself.

I must have fallen asleep because when I looked at the clock again it was eleven thirty and I was alone. Without classes or packing for my trip home to worry about, I had absolutely nothing to do. I didn’t want to stay in the room but it was too cold to hang around outside so I got dressed and headed to the pool.

The air in the aquatic center was heavy with steam and chlorine. The burn in my sinuses as I inhaled made me feel better instantly. I grew up swimming competitively but after a major growth spurt in tenth grade, my dad pushed me out of the pool and onto a court. Fortunately, my lanky 6’ 3” body seemed to be made for basketball. The changing room was deserted so I threw my bag in a locker and started my laps.

My arms were heavy and my lungs burned by the time I was ready to get out. I felt shaky as I went into the shower to wash away the chlorine. The echo of the running water in the long, tiled shower was eerie. The silence made me think I was in the Bates Motel when I closed my eyes to let the hot water cover my face. I would have stayed like that for an hour until I realized that my eyelids weren’t red anymore. They were black. I opened my eyes and found myself in total darkness. Power outage.

That happened occasionally but only lasted a few minutes before generators kicked in. Feeling around for the water handle, I turned it off. I shuffled across the tile, hands stretched out in front of my chest. The last thing I wanted to do was run into a support beam. I almost made it to the concrete when the generator kicked in and the lights flickered on. They were dim but at least I could get dressed without putting everything on inside out or backwards.

The cafeteria was partially closed for the holiday break so my options were cold pizza, pre-made sandwiches or microwavable soup. I grabbed a few slices of pizza and a ham sandwich to take back to the room. I didn’t want to have to go back for dinner later so I ate the pizza while I walked and shoved the sandwich in my bag.

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